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Around a hundred women have gathered in a community centre in Peshawar but they are conversing in a dialect incomprehensible to the Pashtun that dominate the region.

They are exchanging anecdotes and ideas in their native Hindko (literally, "the language of India") at a conference organised to promote the increasingly marginalised language.

Pakistan's 200 million people speak 72 provincial and regional tongues, including official languages Urdu and English, according to a 2014 parliamentary paper on the subject that classed 10 as either “in trouble” or “near extinction”.

Hindko speaking schoolchildren sing the national anthem at their school in Mansehra.— AFP

According to scholars, Hindko's decline as the foremost language of Peshawar began in 1947 when Hindu and Sikh traders left the city after the partition of British India.

Known for its curious aphorisms such as “Kehni aan dhiye nu, nuen kan dhar” ("I'm talking to my daughter, my daughter-in-law should listen") — which is meant to convey a harsh message but indirectly, it only has some two million speakers across the country as opposed to Pashto's 26 million.

It has also become a minority language in the city of its birth.

Men read Hindko language books at The Hindko Centre in Peshawar.— AFP

“Years and years of political unrest in Pakistan's northwestern region and Afghanistan have adversely impacted our language and it has lost grounds to Pashto,” Salahudin, Chief Executive of the Gandhara Hindko Board which organised the event, explained.

Some three million mainly Pashto speakers fled war from neighbouring Afghanistan over the past 35 years, while others are more recent migrants from other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkwa province.

A young Sindhi woman looks on as she attends a Sindh Cultural festival in Karachi.— AFP

Loss of culture

The most endangered of Pakistan's dialects are now spoken by only a few hundred people, such as Domaaki, an Indo-Aryan language confined to a handful of villages in remote northern Gilgit-Baltistan.
Even regional languages spoken by tens of millions like Sindhi and Punjabi are no longer as vigorous as they once were.

“There is not a single newspaper or magazine published in Punjabi for the 60 million-plus Punjabi speakers,” wrote journalist Abbas Zaidi in an essay, despite it being the language of the nationally revered Sufi poet Bulleh Shah and the native-tongue of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Young Sindhi women pose as they attend a Sindh Cultural festival in Karachi.— AFP

English has been seen as the language of the elite in Pakistan since the country was founded.

It is used at the highest official levels, despite the fact that this excludes the majority of Pakistanis — many of whom, as a consequence of low literacy rates, do not speak English well or at all, according to leading linguist Tariq Rahman.

Urdu, the most common national tongue and spoken as a second language by the majority of Pakistanis, has been relegated to the middle- and lower-level halls of power, while the widely spoken regional languages — usually native to their speakers — are not even taught in schools.

“The result is an underclass that remains out of any public policy making, its upward mobility increasingly limited, and harbouring a deep sense of inferiority,” wrote Urdu poet Harris Khalique in a research paper.

“A majority of Pakistanis is unable to recognise car registration plates, many road signs that are only in English, the signboards of shops and offices.”

A Sindhi folk singer wearing traditional Sindhi cap and Ajrak performs during a Sindh Cultural Day festival in Karachi.— AFP

Taking a stand

Some language activists have taken a stand, such as Rozi Khan Baraki, a champion of the Urmari language of South Waziristan tribal zone that claims some 50,000 speakers.

At its peak in the early 16th century, the language flourished across much of Afghanistan and what is now northwest Pakistan.

Sindhi children pose as they attend a Sindh Cultural festival in Karachi.— AFP

“But then people in [the area] began speaking Pashto and Persian because many of the speakers of those languages migrated to the fertile lands of this region.

“Migrations have also threatened our next generation, who being Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in Dera Ismail Khan, Peshawar, and Karachi have stopped communicating in their mother tongue.”

Baraki said to avoid extinction, community elders have asked their people to “force their children to speak Urmari at homes, especially those who have married women who speak other languages”.

“Our next generation is threatened, this language is going to die if we don't preserve it today,” he said.

Young Sindhi women pose for a 'selfie' as they attend a Sindh Cultural festival in Karachi.— AFP

Rahman lauds such efforts but says the process of saving dying languages can only happen when it is taken up at a governmental level as was the case with Welsh, a regional language of Britain.

A loss of diversity can have lasting ill effects, he warns.

Those who shift from their mother tongue to assimilate “try to become clones of another group — the one which they want to imitate, and lose respect for their former group”, he said.

Children find it difficult to communicate to their elders, while folk stories and music can also fade from memory.

“There are names of herbs and local names for fruit and animals that are lost. In some cases when you lose the name of the herb the use is also forgotten,” he said.

Comments (159) Closed

I have few Indian friends. I asked once what official language are spoken in India and surprised to know that the count is 3

English
Hindi
Local

That is the way you could preserve local language and also the culture.

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JithinJan 06, 2017 06:26pm

Pakistanis can take a cue from non-Hindi speaking Indians. While the government in Delhi is hell bent on promoting only Hindi, other languages especially Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu have stood their ground.

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M. EmadJan 06, 2017 06:33pm

Bangla (Bengali) language is saved by the Bangladesh people.

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ArslanJan 06, 2017 07:14pm

No language is inferior to another. Everyone should be proud of their mother language. However, it is a harsh reality that over time, many languages will die. Many regional cultures will be lost as the world is becoming a global village.

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SdfJan 06, 2017 07:34pm

@Jithin Use common sense, Hindi is national language and Modi like all languages all of his communication are translated in various languages. Only issue I have with your statement is you love English as national language vs most Indians accept Hindi.

I have nothing against English all languages are beautiful just have some pride like French, German

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cloud loverJan 06, 2017 08:01pm

Great!! This is a start to regain their pride in their origins. Bodes well!!

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Abhik RayJan 06, 2017 08:11pm

@M. Emad Not true. While love for Bangla is paramount among Bangladeshis and we all recognize that, Bangla is the main spoken and one of the official languages of west Bengal. Bengali newspapers are also widely read (much more than English and Hindi) in West Bengal and also outside the state.

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Abhik RayJan 06, 2017 08:17pm

@Sdf Agree totally. Hindi remains the language of the people. Every Indian at the least understands it. This is why Hindi movies are popular all over the country including south India.

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GuruSpeakJan 06, 2017 08:27pm

Just back from a 10 day long vacation in south India. Didn't feel language problem. Although people interact in local languages Tamil/Telugu, almost everyone understands some form of English or Hindi. I picked a few words of Tamil as well. I can speak at least 4 languages including Hindi and English, even though I belong to north India and Hindi is not my mother tongue.

People should be proud of their languages. More you know better it is. Sindhi, Poshtu and Punjabi are almost dead in Pakistan. Pakistan even imported Urdu language from western UP.

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Jalbani BalochJan 06, 2017 08:27pm

Sindhis loved their language, literature and culture and wherever they meet, mind you, in any corner of the world, they tend to speak proudly in their own Sindhi mother tongue. They are the people, who have practically struggled for safeguarding all languages of Pakistan and consider different languages as a beauty of Pakistan, but unfortunately, Punjabis who dominate in parliament, are creating hurdles in passing the Language Bill. Sindhis are not against English and Urdu as National Languages of Pakistan, but for the promotion and survival of other languages including Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi, Pusho, Saraiki and many other languages, they want that these languages should also be given the status of national languages, while bearing in mind that Sindhi was official language of Sindh in the days of British and it is now one of the official language in India. Sindhis will continue to make their language and culture as their identity at national and international level.

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BrambletonionJan 06, 2017 08:36pm

@Sdf Correction......India doesn't have anything as national language..its only official languages and it varies from state to state.

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sadafJan 06, 2017 08:40pm

@Abhik Ray there is no provision for national language in Indian constitution.

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Siva RamanJan 06, 2017 09:00pm

@Abhik Ray don't speak for all, im from south and most people i know don't know hindi at all

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Agha AtaJan 06, 2017 09:22pm

That's why one or two main- national languages must be taught from the very first day at school.

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Hate me but truth isJan 06, 2017 09:26pm

They better extinct. They have no future, not all of them re even languages. Let there be one language whichever is most beneficial business wise.

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Proud IndianJan 06, 2017 09:41pm

INDIA does not have a national language..!! No language in India is given the status of National language...!!We follow a three tier language system which Includes English,Hindi and Regional language in schools...!!

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Yemeen ul Islam zuberiJan 06, 2017 09:50pm

This nice article raises a very important issue. The fact is that commercialism is taking over the whole world and it is disturbing the local values and culture. In Pakistan, English is spreading fast as public thinks that learning English is the only way to flourish. dilemma is that the nation is without leaders; or we have pseudo leaders and English in many ways suites them . They build a 'Green Line' train track, it gives an impression that Lahoris are getting something American; why not a Punjabi name? Baluchistan's cricket team chose a name 'Quetta Gladiators;' why not a Baluchi name? Local languages need encouragement. Urdu has great capacity to consume foreign words why don't our writers enrich Urdu with local words. About TV anchors the famous Javed Akhtar of India said in an interview that the middle class sends children to English schools, so they have lost their language. That's why we have the language of uneducated on TV. For example they use 'bola' for 'kaha' rampantly.

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kevinJan 06, 2017 09:53pm

@Abhik Ray No ... every indian does not understand or speak hindi. Only 40 % people know hindi. We south indian and north eastern region does not know hindi and north indian forcefully throw hindi on us. Why should we learn hindi? our languages are not inferior to hindi. If india want common language it should be Sanscrit (the mother of all languages) not hindi which is not original indian language. All the epics, ramayana, bhagavat geetha, vedas, upanishat written in sanscrit and it is north indian lobby forcing us hindi on us for thir ulterior motives.

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IMTIAZ ALI KHANJan 06, 2017 10:08pm

@Jithin I love them for keeping their culture alive. Well done and congrats! All languages are beautiful that is what makes us so special.

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IMTIAZ ALI KHANJan 06, 2017 10:12pm

@Jithin Good Job non Hindi speakers.

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yauqut khanJan 06, 2017 10:12pm

@Abhik Ray hindi movies are actually in urdu labelled as hindi.bollywood is promoting urdu instead of hindi.hindi is not what is spoken in bollywood.its urdu when it comes to dialogues of bollywood movies and pure urdu when it comes to lyrices.
btw indians should be proud of sansikrit not hindi.

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Hirok KalitaJan 06, 2017 10:18pm

In my native state of Assam The Indian government tried it's best to extinguish the thriving Assamese language. But in vain. Thanks to opposition by 60% of Indians who don't speak Hindi.
The fact is that today even the tribal languages of Assam like Bodo, Karbi, Mishing, Hajong etc thrives. These people can speak Assamese too. Fact is that Hindi is best spread as a link language. Same way Urdu should also be spread as a link language. Not as a language which dominates others.

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JaganJan 06, 2017 10:18pm

@Jithin ...Indian central Govt. never tried to enforce Hindi as a national language. Infact, It asked state Govt. to use their local language as official language unless you are dealing with other states or central Govt. In those situations, you either can use English or Hindi..

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FuturewizardJan 06, 2017 10:29pm

@Agha Ata For that you need to have a nation, what you have 'Muslim' majority, question what kind of Muslim? Once you become Nation. let's start a conversation.

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Arun kumarJan 06, 2017 10:29pm

@Abhik Ray I am sorry to say that me or 99.99% of my friends and relatives cant speak or read or write hindi.. hindi is not the language for all the Indians...

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aJan 06, 2017 10:36pm

I think the article is a bit flawed. Any language spoken by less than 5 million people isn't exactly a language.

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ShahidJan 06, 2017 10:39pm

@Hate me but truth is: And this 'one language' could be the universal 'sign' language. Certainly it has potential of presenting powerful scenes on out of control media talk shows. Additionally it will remove the superiority and/or inferiority complexes associated with linguisticism.

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Jamil Soomro, NEW YORK CITYJan 06, 2017 10:44pm

Stunning pictures. Although Sindhi and Pashto are taught in Schools in Pakistan, Punjabi
and Seraiki are not. Govt.of Pakistan should certainly pay attention to the uplift and progress
of the regional languages.

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AjmalJan 06, 2017 10:57pm

In light of China's economic and military advances,our close all weather friendship, and CPEC, it may not be a bad idea to introduce Mandrin as one of the official languages in Pakistan. Greater integration with China will keep our adversaries at bay. Sacrificing local languages for our long term security and economic success is a small price to pay

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Jalbani BalochJan 06, 2017 10:59pm

@Hate me but truth is: Language is a wonderful gift of God to mankind, which is bestowed through mother. Can we forsake our mother? Never ever, so think wisely before passing such pungent remarks about mother tongue.

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T chaudhryJan 06, 2017 10:58pm

For those who had complex about local language I have this example. There were 15 percent Sikhs compare to 65 percent Muslims in preparation Punjab.while Muslims distance them from Punjabi Sikhs continue punjabi as their major language of learning. Today if you look the western countries they are way ahead of any communities moved out of punjab including professionals like doctors,nurses. They dominate in agriculture and transportation in Canada and California. They are biggest foreign born community run conviniant stores. There are four federal ministers in Canada including defense. They kept their culture and language, every Sikh child learn punjabi as second language.

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VishnuJan 06, 2017 11:11pm

Language defines your identity. Hope Govt. of Pakistan will help save Hindko language. It is comforting to see happy faces.

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HonestJan 06, 2017 11:35pm

India has English as the link language and its states divided on language basis can use the local language as the official language. So all state governments use the local languages.
In the constitution Hindi is not recognized as the national language...all 365 languages of India are national languages. Just google to ascertain the fact. The South will never accept Hindi as the national language.

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HoulbelatJan 06, 2017 11:36pm

@Moth; India has 169 distinct independent languages in use having over 1600 dialects.

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neoupnishadJan 06, 2017 11:33pm

No language is superior or inferior. Lets love all. India is atleast trying to cope with it. Minimum language at matriculation are two or three. Hindi , English and mothertongue. I can speak 5 language. Hindi english marathi gujarati konkani. Can understand sanskrit. Minimum language known to 3 is common in India.

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tech talkJan 06, 2017 11:35pm

@Moth use simple common sense, check the Indian currency,amount will be mentioned in 21 languages...these are oldest classical languages over 1000+ years history & with prominent literary works by scholars of that time...other than these official regional there are many languages which are only spoken and doesn't have the native script....

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AftabJan 06, 2017 11:49pm

Today India have 28 official state languages and this is not stopping any progress for India. Urdu is still not a language of all the muslims in India except UP-Bihari Muslims. I am still concerned for my kid who does speak better Hindi than Urdu.

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Vijay BJan 06, 2017 11:54pm

I could very easily decipher the "curious aphorisms in Hindko such as “Kehni aan dhiye nu, nuen kan dhar” word by word as it is very similar to what we say in "Derawali" "Aakhaa dhi koo sunvava noo koo." I am proud to state that I am very fluent in 5 languages, my mother tongue Derawali (We are from Dera Ismail Khan,) Punjabi, Hindi, Gujarati (where I grew up in India,) English and even a spattering of French. I wish I could speak Spanish, Russian, and German as well. Each language has its own flavor and fun for those who revel in knowing a variety of them.

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RAhamadJan 06, 2017 11:58pm

@M. Emad
In India Bengali is thriving. Around 80 Movies are produced every year including some of World acclaimed movies. even this year highest literary award was won by Bengali writer.

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Saqib ShahJan 07, 2017 12:06am

@GuruSpeak may I ask where are you getting your information from? Sindhi is far from dead in Pakistan; in fact, its going through a period of renewed progress, thanks to the part played by Sindhi media.
Sindhis are the only linguistic group in Pakistan, who have stuck to their language, regardless of social status.

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PrivateJan 07, 2017 12:07am

@Sdf Hindi is not our national language. meanwhile, we don't have any national language. Hindi is one of the official languages.

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NitinJan 07, 2017 12:19am

Politics have ruined the languages of the region.Here is a my blog on what i feel about it.
http://www.motabrain.com/blog/fragmented-punjab

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MasoudJan 07, 2017 12:27am

Mother tongue (regional language) can never perish, it is another thing that there is no full blown development of a regional language, I think it is not required. In Pakistan languages like Urdu, English & Arabic deserves top spot while regional languages can be taken care of in the respective region. I see lot of Kerala peoples having only knowledge of their kerala language, no way others can understand them. So to sum up National Language, English & arabic in case of Pakistan should get full focus.

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East indianJan 07, 2017 12:45am

@Hate me but truth is this thought alienated bengalis. The rest India completed.

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rajasekharJan 07, 2017 12:46am

@Sdf You are absolutely wrong in saying Hindi is the national language. All regional languages are considered to be national languages and English and Hindi are official language. The north Indians are pushing Hindi but south will never accept.

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Masood KhanJan 07, 2017 12:48am

@Sdf @Jithin

I speak one of the South Indian languages. While I am proud of the language I speak, I also of the opinion that every Indian should learn how to speak Hindi. It is our National Language and we have to learn how to speak. Period.

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rajasekharJan 07, 2017 12:49am

@Abhik Ray You are wrong. It is not understood in south India by all.

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ShazJan 07, 2017 01:13am

Another language that is giving way in its region of birth is pothohari language to Punjabi.

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MALABAR MALANKARA KeralamJan 07, 2017 01:29am

MALAYALAM - survives because it can be read from - Right to Left or Left to Right.

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Imdad HussainJan 07, 2017 01:47am

@Hate me but truth is

The Top utility of the local languages is higher than any one can thought. Any local language have an ocean of wisdom for its community- the ocean having civilization, rivers of culture and a social wisdom higher than any Ph.D degree can provide. It has literature, folk lore. It has poets and preachers like Bhulay Shah and Rehman Baba who educates people, train their behavior and provide wisdom to local mind, let it be illiterate apparently. Only the local guides (Murshid) can understand mind and problems in local context and provide local remedies according local mind- a great service and effective more than any modern University's knowledge. Pakistan earnestly needs to protect its local languages if it wants civilized and wise as well as polite people with great sense of humanity.

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aKJan 07, 2017 02:16am

@Jithin Govt. never promoted only Hindi. Hindi is just link language due to widespread speaker base in India. It is promoted only for comfort of masses but not at the cost of local language. States can have local languages as their official language and govt. of India has no problem.

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aKJan 07, 2017 02:16am

@Sdf Hindi is not a national language. India doesn't have any national language. Period. Hindi is just a link language while English is lingua franca.

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RocknRollJan 07, 2017 02:17am

@Moth 40% of Indian population can't speak Hindi...

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garbarJan 07, 2017 02:31am

@Siva Raman Don't speak with authority in absence of any survey about how many people understand Hindi in south India. In general, yes, more people are expected to speak Hindi in urban areas compared to rural ones. In due course of time, everybody in India will be proficient in Hindi.

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adilJan 07, 2017 02:38am

Good article. It is important to protect the languages as that is part of the what the country is. I am a Sindhi and proud of it. However it seems Sindhi culture is slowly being eroded both in India (few seems to speak and most publications are slowly disappearing) and in Pakistan it is not getting the importance it deserves. So hopefully politicians in both countries will show some foresight and pass bills to protect the languages and therefore rich culture of the region.

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SauronJan 07, 2017 03:24am

@Sdf Hindi is NOT the national language of India. India has NO national language

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Bal K. GuptaJan 07, 2017 03:44am

There are 0.5 million Mirpuri Muslims (majority of Pakistanis) living in England. The author forgot to mention Mirpuri language. I believe Mirpuris in UK write Urdu as their mother tongue. I am a Hindu refugee from Mirpur who grew up in Jammu (Indian Kashmir). About 0.5 million Hindu and Sikh refugees from Pakistani Kashmir live in Indian Kashmir. They write Hindi as their mother tongue. Days of unwritten languages are numbered!

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MJ KhanJan 07, 2017 04:26am

We have imported a lucknowi indian language & imposed it on our people. That's just sad.

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Anand Jan 07, 2017 05:38am

@Hate me but truth is
Yeah I agree. Let's just make English the national language of the whole region. That way, no one group feels they're being disadvantaged for the sake of another and we're all speaking a neutral language. Persian once served that function, today its the turn of English. If its good enough for the Nigerians (despite their many languages) or if French is good enough for the Congolese despite their many languages, English is good enough for all South Asians.

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NathanJan 07, 2017 05:52am

Very informative article on the minority languages.

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Pakistan zindabadJan 07, 2017 06:17am

Even in America, there is a vast majority of Sindhis, Punjabis, and Urdu speaking people. Maybe Pakistanis are trying to zero down the language preferences. But mother languages shouldn't be lost.

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ShankarJan 07, 2017 06:25am

The author missed the language spoken in thar desert and people living parallel to the Indo Pak border. Be it Hindus or Muslims they speak the Marwari /Rajasthani language.
I have heard the minority Pakistani bheels migrating to India speaking very fluently the Marwari language.same as people in western n central Rajasthan do.

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SamJan 07, 2017 06:27am

It's painful to see so many languages perishing in Pakistan. Some have rich oral and written traditions and one never fails to be mesmerised by the nuances and subtleties of these languages that are virtually untranslatable.
Pakistan should re-assess their language policy. Like India, it can adopt a three language policy, Urdu, English and Local and have these mandatory up to secondary levels of education.
Incidentally, poorly thought-out language policy at the inception of Pakistan had sown the seed the Bangla language movement in the '50's. That is the then Pakistani authorities wanted to impose Urdu in place of Bangla, which the Bengalis fought against and won in establishing Bangla as an official language of Pakistan.
Linguistic diversity is an unassailable strength of a multi-lingual nation. This must be protected, cherished and promoted.

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Maj. ParmodJan 07, 2017 06:40am

We speak Urdu and call it Hindi. Hindi is actually Urdu which is the state language of India and Pakistan, the actual Hindi would be ancient Sanskrit from which Urdu language is also derived beside other Northern Indians languages. The dilemma with calling Urdu in India as Hindi while it written format is Sanskriti.In a nutshell we can say Urdu (spoken) + Sankriti (Writing) = Hindi

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AyubJan 07, 2017 07:05am

Languages do evolve, just look at ruins of old empires and their languages, those are gone with their civilization. It is nice to communicate in a language what your mother taught you but when you are gone language dies with you and remain of that language are picked up by next generations what their mothers would teach them. It will continue like that...

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MohinderJan 07, 2017 07:20am

@Hate me but truth is

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AdeebJan 07, 2017 07:23am

@Jalbani Baloch Sindhi is an official language of Sindh Province

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PARVEZ CHOWDHURYJan 07, 2017 07:46am

@Abhik Ray You are right. Bangla is spoken by over 380 million people of the subcontinent.

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keyurJan 07, 2017 07:51am

@Sdf there we go again....there is no national language in india. Hindi is not a national language. can you atleast google?

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Jamil Soomro, NEW YORK CITYJan 07, 2017 07:49am

Stunning pictures.Among the regional languages of Pakistan Sindhi and Pashto are taught
in schools.There is no doubt Sindhis are proud of their language and culture.Nothing has been done as far as Punjabi and Seraiki languages are concerned.It is up to the Punjab Govt.to pass some sort of legislation in this regard.

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PARVEZ CHOWDHURYJan 07, 2017 08:00am

That was the main conflict start in the very early days of Pakistan. Though 56% of the total population speak Bengali but Pakistani Leaders try for only Urdu. Even now only 23% people of Pakistan whose mother language is Urdu (Mostly migrated from central India).

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LANGJan 07, 2017 08:04am

@Sdf use common sense. Modi being a politician wants his address to be understood by all irrespective of whether people want to hear his message.Being translated doesnt mean he and his dispensation in delhi are interested in promoting other languages.

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Chandra ShekarJan 07, 2017 08:32am

Brahui, a Dravidian language, is spoken in Pakistan. No one talks about them anymore. Many Pakistanis don't even know they have Dravidians, distant cousins of South Indians and their languages, even live in Pakistan. By the way, many in Pakistan think that Urdu is a separate language and it is not related to Hindi (Hindi is not a language. The name given to a dialect spoken in Sindh belt, and that dialect spoken around Delhi (KhaDi Boli) is now called as Hindi). Urdu was the language spoken by the military camp during the Muslim rule in India (KaDi Boli with more words from Persian and Arabic because of their religion). Urdu and Hindi speakers have no problem conversing with each other fluently. Urdu took Islamic identity, and Hindi took majority Hindu identity. But they are NOT separate languages. One can say they are dialects based more on religious identity than linguistic differences.

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human beingJan 07, 2017 09:15am

Business language is not the only one that can be spoken by people. Languages like telugu, tamil and bengali are more beautiful and sweet and business can also be done in these languages by people who know these languages. Man does not live by bread and butter alone.

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Vijay JJan 07, 2017 09:31am

All languages are treasures of humanity. The need to be documented and recorded for posterity. It is evident that some languages may not survive. But people should be encouraged to transact in their mother tongue. States should encourage preservation of languages

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Hasan HabibJan 07, 2017 09:43am

It is an established fact that the child's learning is developed on the mother tongue. Europeans have learned this lesson and promote regional languages for learning and diversity.
We do not invest time and resources in protecting and promoting our regional languages. It will result in a great loss in terms of losing rich cultural asset and literature.
Government and civil society should do some thing and quickly.

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Ajaya K DuttJan 07, 2017 09:43am

@Jithin -"While the government in Delhi is hell bent on promoting only Hindi" is a blatant lie. India is perhaps one of the very few countries in the world to organize provinces along linguistic lines.

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Jim BeamJan 07, 2017 09:48am

@Sdf While Hindi was designated the national language it is hardly national. They did try ramming it down the throats especially in southern India but the local languages speakers fought back and won. I speak, read and write English, Hindi and Tamil, and proud of it. With death of a language there is loss of tradition, culture and collective human knowledge. It is akin to extinction of animals, it is a loss for all of us.

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MarathaJan 07, 2017 10:00am

Here in Maharashtra, we speak Marathi. But the problem is in Mumbai. Mumbai, though being a part of Maharashtra is being Hindified. Earlier there were many Marathi speakers in Mumbai. Now only 21% are Marathi speaking in Mumbai. Raj Thackeray the leader of the political party 'Maharashtra Navnirman Sena' is right. He says that the Hindi speakers from North India especially UP, Bihar are coming to Maharashtra and creating problems for the local Marathi speaking people. These Hindi, Punjabi and people speaking South Indian languages come to Maharashtra and they don't even try to learn Marathi. A classic example is ShahRukh Khan and many other Bollywood celebrities. At least Amir khan is trying to learn Marathi. Even Amitabh Bacchan isn't doing anything. When people from India go to US , we have to learn English. Then why not within India?

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umerJan 07, 2017 09:59am

Urdu is not the mother tongue of any ethnic group in Pakistan except of migrants from India. Yet it was hoisted upon millions of non-urdu speakers as a national language. It was the controversy over national language that showed East Pakistanis who is going to be calling the shots in the newly independent state.

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farisJan 07, 2017 10:22am

Languages rise and die. It is the way of the world. Don't be sad about it.

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Vijay PalaniappanJan 07, 2017 10:44am

@Sdf
Hindi is NOT a national language of India, In fact India does not have national language, there are 23 official languages are present. Hindi and English is used to commute between states and central govt. Other than that every state has their own regional language.

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GURURAJJan 07, 2017 11:13am

Why is there no mention of Brahui???? It is very special language for Pakistan as it is the only language of an important family of Dravidian languages. There is a mention of it even in the national anthem of Afghanistan. As a Tamil, I hope I meet a Brahui speaking brother/sister someday....because beyond race, nationality, color, religion, region, etc....we've a bond...we're related in the words we speak.

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SreejeshJan 07, 2017 11:17am

Primary level education should be in mothertongue.if religious education is in Arabic medium and formal education in regional languages,the ultimate result will be illiterate citizens.Teach people the way they communicate,include words they usually use.

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Suren SahniJan 07, 2017 11:20am

If a language dies the culture dies with it.Preserve the languages .

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jojuJan 07, 2017 11:54am

@keyur thats just north Indian superiority complex..........

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SrinivasJan 07, 2017 12:51pm

@Maj. Parmod ,
Both Hindi and Urdu evolved from the concoction of Persian,Sanskrit and Arabic.That's why their boli (way they are spoken) is more or less the same. After the decline of Mughal empire, when the written script was being pushed by the British, Muslims preferred the Arabic script and the Hindus preferred the Devnagari (Sanskrit) script as per their comfort levels.That's when the power struggle to dominate the govt.jobs started as one gets a good government job only when one can write a language.This is also one of the reasons for the ultimate partition of India in 1947.

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MIRZAJan 07, 2017 01:25pm

@Maratha simple,Because Hindi and English are India's national language.

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MIRZAJan 07, 2017 01:27pm

@Maj. Parmod Dude Urdu is derived from Farsi and Hindi.

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asadJan 07, 2017 01:39pm

Atleast all 4/5 major languages of pakistan should be an optional subject in our school courses. I am not talking about poetry or hardcore literature rather know how of language for communication. Due to its resemblance with urdu lots of ppl understand punjab to some extent. But pukhto, balochi and sindhi and GB languages are not easy to understand by others. Therefore, the provincial governments should take the lead and teach their citizens pak languages in schools at young age when they can pick up easily any other language. Ask a punjab businessman after a business trip to peshawar who can speak pukhto, how benificial was his skill of language and he ll tell you.

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Rashid SultanJan 07, 2017 01:59pm

@Hate me but truth is How extraordinarily boring the world and Pakistan would become with just one language, culture, food, dress, facial hair, etc. Diversity must be encouraged and celebrated.

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Indian JacobiteJan 07, 2017 02:24pm

@Moth you don't any ideas each a d every state has language.it taught till compulsory till 8 the standard.the regional film induTry such As Bengali, Assamese,Tamil,telegu, Malayalam,Kannada,bhojpuri, Punjabi,,gujarati and Marathi has millions of viewers.Tv channels are in thousands of number with many different languages.

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Indian JacobiteJan 07, 2017 02:23pm

@M. Emad you are ti certain Bangla is immensely popular all over India.durga puja festival is celebrated in each and every state of India.

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s kumars Jan 07, 2017 02:22pm

@a - sanskrit is the first base language for many languages , oldest script , highly developed and one of the worlds foremost classical language(out of six or 7) , but it is not spoken by 5 million people. Numbers do not matter .....this criteria has no sense ....

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s kumars Jan 07, 2017 02:23pm

@MIRZA- india has only official languages . no national language . This exists only in the minds of northerners who speak hindi and who refuse to learn other languages. The propagation of hindi is to make life easier for hindi speakers and secure govt. jobs by preventing competetion. . @maratha- you are right - people are not learning marathi bcos of hindi in mumbai . Iam most proficient in marathi , and know hindi, tamil, english and can understand malayalam, kannada and gujarathi and try to speak local language wherever i go and i have seen how people respond with happiness .. all 18 languages are treasures which we have to preserve . most countries evolved seperately out of one Language one people system .It is just impossible to try to fit this rule into a multi language -one nation scenario. One more point is india is better now because of adopting english as one of its language. Now more people are trying to learn english for better oppurtunities ..

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Indian JacobiteJan 07, 2017 02:26pm

@kevin nobody is forcing you .But we can't have English as a national language.indians are doing well to protect all regional languages.all languages are same in India.

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Indian JacobiteJan 07, 2017 02:28pm

@Honest don't say south will not accept Karnataka,ap hindi is already spoken widely.kerala people are not fluent but understand Hindi well.tamil nadu govt opposes but people don't .

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s kumars Jan 07, 2017 02:39pm

@a - sanskrit is the first base language for many languages , oldest script , highly developed and one of the worlds foremost classical language(out of six or 7) , but it is not spoken by 5 million people. Numbers do not matter .....this criteria has no sense ....

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s kumars Jan 07, 2017 02:49pm

this article was really an eye opener. nice to learn a new thing - “There are names of herbs and local names for fruit and animals that are lost. In some cases when you lose the name of the herb the use is also forgotten,” when a language is lost the whole culture is lost , hence it is to be preserved. The sub-continent is a melting pot of almost 40-45 beautiful languages. Political system should not tamper with this diversity for their own convenience . Diversity enhances the power of brain and learning many languages can improve the child's development ..

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CIVIJan 07, 2017 03:02pm

@Moth exactly right,in INDIA only official languages are there;no national language

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MKJan 07, 2017 03:09pm

Write more books about these cultures and languages in their native languages. Write more dictionaries people. And write about the history of the people and their ways. It's especially important for the elders to do this. One day it will be invaluable to us. There is no danger of us forgetting English or Urdu but everything else should be preserved.

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MKJan 07, 2017 03:19pm

“There are names of herbs and local names for fruit and animals that are lost. In some cases when you lose the name of the herb the use is also forgotten” Even specialist picture dictionaries about native plants and animals should be written too... As one day we will lose all the knowledge of our elders.

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MKJan 07, 2017 03:22pm

@Ayub Not necessarily. Those who read and who had written, especially with classical literature, can record and pick up things quite easily.

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Hasmukh daveJan 07, 2017 04:06pm

The best way to protect local language is to make primary level education compulsory in mother tongue through out the country

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Hasmukh daveJan 07, 2017 04:28pm

Hindi and Urdu are derived language, before Mogul, Hindustani language was used as communication language between different Indian languages, During Mogal Empire Persian became official language and language of elite as Mogul came from central Asia, As common people were unable to grasp Persian, new language Urdu was born from Hindustani, with Persian script and heavy dose of Persian and arebic words. It was Shahjaha who change official language from Persian to Urdu.
And similarly because of our Masters, language of elite people in India and Pakistan is changed to English, and for common people it is changing to Hinglish

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PrabhashJan 07, 2017 04:26pm

@Moth Actually there are only 2 official languages in India- Hindi and English. Hindi, for the majority speakers and English, for communicating who doesnt know either of Hindi or any local language. Our constitution recognises 22 scheduled languages including Hindi and English like Marathi, Kashmiri, Telugu, Bengali, etc. So it covers nearly all the languages and yes, these are the medium of teaching in local govt. schools too.

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Mansoor Ali KhanJan 07, 2017 04:41pm

Accommodation of languages will work and not imposition of languages. A very good, must watch debate on languages below..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc-kwHE2ZGo

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Tamil GuruJan 07, 2017 04:42pm

Unity in Diversity of Indian languages illustrated below..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwrq6F0J9FQ

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ShivJan 07, 2017 05:46pm

@Sdf 'Use common sense'? Better read your response once at least before posting.
While there have been attempts to position Hindi, they have not succeded. Exactly like Urdu in yur country,
And English is an official language in India, not a national language. Makes sense?

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Dr.Shamir BalochJan 07, 2017 06:04pm

Urdu and Hindi are commonly spoken and understood in most of subcontinent to a great extent, both these languages are used by other speakers as their lingo franca to communicate with others but does not mean the smaller languages are not important to that specific group who speaks it.Promoting smaller languages will helps that groups national identity and culture.

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cyber BhaiJan 07, 2017 06:15pm

@Maj. Parmod Hindi derived from Khari boli and basically from Sanskrit. Urdu is something which was spoken by military camps, this had mix of words, from Persian and Arabic. Fact is almost opposite than you said. URDU = Hindi + Arabic and Persian words + Arabic script. Hindi evolved earlier than Urdu. Many words cant be written accurately in urdu. There are lesser vowels. While Hindi with Devanagari script is more complete. If you write Urdu with Devnagri script then it can be written better, else with Arabic script it is not easily readable. I know script but many times you cant read it accurately unless you know context.

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Yasir KhanJan 07, 2017 06:43pm

Wow this article made me think as my family that spoke gojri but I (29 years old) am the last in line to speak the language and the younger ones don't know a word. I see hindko also disappearing from my family too. The responsibility lies with me & us to promote and protect our languages.

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M CJan 07, 2017 06:43pm

@Moth hi..India has 18 official languages but a typical Indian speaks at least 3 languages - mother toungue, national language and the International language.

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SanganJan 07, 2017 07:04pm

@Jithin Do you see English is killing all our languages. Nobody voices against English. Everybody talks only against Hindi. Mr. Modi is not imposing Hindi, instead he is encouraging regional languages to grow. Hating Hindi will not lead to development of regional languages. I proudly say that I studied in Kannada medium and in a government school. Tell me how many kids today study in their mother tongue? In the name of Hindi hatred we implementing English. If the same trend continues one day English will make all our regional extinct. Did you observe now almost all regional language movies title cards being written in English. Why nobody protests against this?? In south it has become fashion to talk against Hindi. Earlier talking against Hindi was only limited only to Tamil Nadu but now it has also reached Karnataka. Southerners talk only against Hindi but will talk against English!

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Muhammad Jan 07, 2017 07:03pm

@Aftab u r right that urdu is not the language of all muslims but it is the mother tongue of most. Majority of the muslims of not just UP nad Bihar but even delhi, haryana, Andhra/telangana, karnataka, maharashtra, orissa, goa, MP, Jharkhand and even HP, Uttrakhand, Rajasthan and chattisgarh claim urdu as their mother tongue. Its only in wes tbengal, gujarat, karala, TN, Kashmir and north east 7 sister states and lakshadweep, dadrta ngar haveli, and andaman and nicobar where muslims dont speak Urdu.

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SanJan 07, 2017 07:09pm

@Jithin Do you see English is killing all our languages. Nobody voices against English. Everybody talks only against Hindi. Mr. Modi is not imposing Hindi, instead he is encouraging regional languages to grow. Hating Hindi will not lead to development of regional languages. I proudly say that I studied in Kannada medium and in a government school. Tell me how many kids today study in their mother tongue? In the name of Hindi hatred we implementing English. If the same trend continues one day English will make all our regional extinct. Did you observe now almost all regional language movies title cards being written in English. Why nobody protests against this?? In south it has become fashion to talk against Hindi. Earlier talking against Hindi was only limited only to Tamil Nadu but now it has also reached Karnataka. Southerners talk only against Hindi but will talk against English!

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TruthJan 07, 2017 07:31pm

Well it's kinda off topic but knowing more than one language is very good for brain development, knowing multiple languages is one of the key technique for maintain mental stability in old age .

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Avik RayJan 07, 2017 09:04pm

@kevin No one is forcing any language on anyone anymore. No reason to be emotional. All I wanted to say was Indians by and large UNDERSTAND hindi, even if partly. That is a fact. Only movies made in hindi are marketed all over India. This is because people, including from south and of course northeast, by and large connect with that.
Bombay is not located in hindi belt, but people from all over India go to that city and take part in making movies in Hindi. Think about it.
Hindi movies also contributed significantly in national integration. Indian government had nothing to do with that. Just think about it.

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MOtherTonNguEJan 07, 2017 09:09pm

The trend in Pakistan is to marginalize and destroy all native languages like Sindhi, Punjabi etc while only promoting Urdu - a language imported from India. A sad state of affairs

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Avik RayJan 07, 2017 09:14pm

@yauqut khan Not true. Bombay movies are in hindi with a lot of contribution from urdu. Urdu and hindi are cousins, both came out of north India. Urdu is written in arabic because at some point the Mughals wanted them to be written in arabic. The language has nothing to do with arabic. Urdu is connected with hindi and by default devnagri.

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Avik RayJan 07, 2017 09:14pm

@Arun kumar but you do understand the language at least partially. Do not say you never watched a hindi movie. Hindi movies are marketed all over India and they are not dubbed.

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Avik RayJan 07, 2017 09:18pm

@Maj. Parmod Very good point.Thanks

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Avik RayJan 07, 2017 09:25pm

@Maratha If Bombay movie industry start making movies in marathi instead of hindi then what is going to be the fate of the industry? Will it get a nationwide audience? I guess not. Probably some of your relatives will lose jobs or be adversely affected if the movie industry collapses.

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Avik RayJan 07, 2017 09:28pm

@San Very true. Many bengalis will protest agains hindi (unfairly) and then happily spend money to watch a hindi movie. AR Rahman became a somebody after connecting with Bombay/hindi. The same goes for many many talented people from south India. What is the problem accepting it?

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aJan 07, 2017 09:56pm

@ s kumars Sanskrit is an ancient language, not modern. It was spoken by half of India, which would mean many millions.

My point was that Pakistanis keep naming dialects as languages. In reality, Pakistan only has Punjabi, Balochi, Urdu and perhaps English.

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rajasekharJan 07, 2017 10:45pm

@MIRZA Not national language, it is called official language.All major languages of India including Urdu are designated as national languages.

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rajasekharJan 07, 2017 10:57pm

@Masood Khan Thinking like yours is sure way of breaking the country. The South Indians will never accept Hindi to be imposed on them. The Tamil, Kannada and Telugu are classical languages of India and Hindi is only of recent origin.

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keyurJan 07, 2017 11:30pm

@joju I dont see this as North Indian superiority complex. I just see this as stupidity. It is well established fact that BIMARU states are very backward and blotching all development index. It is only because some other well developed states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra are doing the heavy lifting, we are doing good for the last few decades.

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keyurJan 07, 2017 11:39pm

@San. You cannot be more wrong. Southern States are only against imposing Hindi and not against Hindi. You got to Railway station, Post office or any Central Govt office in states like TN, Kerala, Karnataka, AP, Telengana - There is announcement in Hindi, English and not in their native language. What is the use of announcement if people cannot understand. Hence in 1960 they stood their ground rightfully and demanded announcements, circulars to include their regional language as well. Why would a Tamilian which is one of the oldest alive classical language (both written/spoken) be interested in learning a fairly newbie Hindi language? On the contrary, people from remote BIMARU villages come to TN, Karnataka for higher education, jobs and complain that nobody speaks Hindi. How silly!!! if you migrate to a place looking for a better life, you learn the language to survive not the other way around . This is why they are driven out of Maharashtra by Shiva Senas etc..

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imran ahmedJan 08, 2017 12:13am

Love my language and I love your. This sentence can be reversed also. we can argue years and years against english being a foreign language and trying to silence our own native languages. What we want exactly?

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RS TirkieJan 08, 2017 12:30am

@Sdf
: There is no national language: Hindi and English are official languages of Government of India.

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RS TirkieJan 08, 2017 12:32am

English allows others to prospe but Hindi and Urdu suffocate others.

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RS TirkieJan 08, 2017 12:39am

@Jagan : They are doing consitently. What is the justification for Rajbhasa day in Company like Indian Oil? Rajbhasa means language of king.

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RS TirkieJan 08, 2017 12:39am

@T chaudhry : Domination in transport has nothing to do with language, it has to do with unity among themselves.

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RS TirkieJan 08, 2017 12:42am

@Maratha : It was Maathi's and Gujarti's who played a crucial role to make Hindi a national language.

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Pune-IndiaJan 08, 2017 01:11am

In my native state Maharashtra Marathi is divided into 5 local dialects..even in South's each states has many dialects..India has officially 22 languages but in actually they are more than 22..India doesn't have any National language..

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Chandra ShekarJan 08, 2017 01:39am

@yauqut khan Your comment amounts to saying that French speakers should be more proud of Latin than French. Sanskrit is the mother of Hindi/Urdu. It is a classical language, a language of Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Literature and Epics (Ramayana and Mahabharata). It was spoken by the educated elites and the language of your ancestors (Sanskrit was fully developed in the geographical territory that now you call as Pakistan). This classical language is not spoken or used except in Hindu religious discourse. Pakistanis should be as proud of Sanskrit as Indians are. The language you call as Urdu is not a separate language and it has nothing to do with Arabic and Islam. It is not a Semitic language.

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SaadJan 08, 2017 03:09am

Punjabi is probably the most neglected language in the world. Such a beautiful language but it's own native speakers are ashamed of speaking it in Pakistan. Indian Punjabis are far better in this regard. They have promoted the punjabi culture and language throughout the world.

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Vijay BJan 08, 2017 04:19am

There is Urdu and then there is Urdu. I am proficient in Hindi, and then because of my NWFP family background, my father and grand-father having studied in Urdu, I understand some "theth" Urdu words as well. when I watch many Pakistani news programs on U-tube. I understand Mr. Najam Sethi on Aapas ki Baat, 100%, Hassan Nisar about 85%, but some of the Arabic type Mullas & Maulvis 50% only. I tried learning Urdu script, but gave up because of a lack of due diligence as I found it too difficult. Per moi, Devnagri script is the most scientific and easy script to learn but again Sanskrit is not easy to master. But I do enjoy Urdu Shayari written in Devnagri script, which I could never could in the Urdu script. Like it or not, English has become the language of international communication and a "must know" if you want to be modern and progressive, and hope to prosper. The prevalence of Hindi in India is on the rise, and it will become the "Lingua Franca" with the passage of time.

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Shafique USAJan 08, 2017 05:05am

Nice article! Best way to preserve a language is to speak it. Hindko is my native language. we speak Hindko at home, my kids born in US speak Hindko. I speak Hindko at office with my colleagues (few) from Peshawar, Kohat, Haripur/Abbottabad and even Sikh friends!

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P. S. NatarajanJan 08, 2017 06:04am

The fact is not only the minor languages are facing extinction, but even the major non-English languages are being systematically destroyed in India and Pakistan specially by newspapers, electronic media, TV serials and films. Here I am glad to say that at least Urdu in India as the language recognised in the Indian Constitution is well-preserved, though restricted in its use or spread in comparison with Hindi. But Hindi is getting slaughtered here like anything ! Pradhan Mantri (Prime Minister) in Hindi is invariably shortened as "PM" BY Hindi channels and media while Urdu channels and media always speak o0r write this properly as "Wazir-e-Azam". About the Hindi films, less said is better.

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Jawad Jan 08, 2017 06:32am

@Avik Ray ....Urdu is heavily influenced by Farsi and Arabic. Indians daily use more urdu words as hindi than actual hindi.

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Ranjit HaripurJan 08, 2017 06:50am

@GURURAJ , Actually brahui which is Dravida based is spoken in some villages in south eastern Afghanistan even today. thankfully Hindko or old Punjabi which is a language I speak is still spoken in some villages in the Hindu kush mountains.

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Vijay BJan 08, 2017 07:06am

The Readers' postings in this article are invaluable and have opened my eyes and added to my knowledge of languages I wasn't aware of, in the Pakistan part of the subcontinent. Most fascinating was the mention of "Brahui, a Dravidian language, (is) spoken in Pakistan" and the mention of "Jalbani" spoken in some parts of Sindh. I would tend to speculate that these were the languages spoken by the people of Mohenjadaro and Harappa. Then there is mention of Mirpuri, Pukhto (or Pushto?), Potohari, Gojari, and there must be many others not brought up here. Not to forget all the languages like Derawali, Bannuwali, Multani, Bhawalpuri, Jhangi etc that come under the wider umbrella of "Saraiki." that were not mentioned at all. I am fascinated at the wealth of information this article has generated first hand from the readers. I must thank Dawn and the author for opening up the door which led to all these people bringing up the existence of these barely known languages to the forefront.

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Vidyadhara bJan 08, 2017 07:11am

In Bangalore six languages will work in most places. Very likely even eight.

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BijayJan 08, 2017 09:13am

Hey Guys. I am from India. I could read,write 4 languages that are English,Hindi,Odia,Bengoli and can understand extra 2 language Marathi,Assamese and Telugu and know 3 dialects including my mother tongue sambalpuri. Wish I could know more language because you can feel he uniqueness of ever language and fell good while communication. I think 90% Indian knows 3 language with a dialects.
Pakistan should preserve every language and dialects to preserve the culture. I am not telling India is superior in this case but I am making gus undersand how it could be done.

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shettyJan 08, 2017 09:57am

@Sdf Hindi is not national language, update urself

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Junaid goawalaJan 08, 2017 10:36am

One language can unite a nation, better different LANGUAGES fade away along with different castes and groups. ONE NATION ONE LANGUAGE

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Malik JanJan 08, 2017 11:55am

Sad we are losing our languages, because our priority is not our culture.

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Ali Ahmed BrohiJan 08, 2017 01:11pm

@GURURAJ Thank you Gururaj. Indeed there is a bond between us. I am a Brahui from Pakistan. Peace!

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skumarsJan 08, 2017 02:48pm

@Junaid goawala -this is a wrong perception . It is a fact that most of the countries were formed based on one language like japan , germany, france etc.. It is not that they had many languages to start with to end up with one promoted national language. For countries formed with multiple languages, promoting one language will lead to disintegration and it is unfair for the other language speakers .These are basically nation-states where one language formula will not apply. Further if the promoting language is used for eliminating competetion in government jobs this will be a disaster. At the end of the day we all will come to a conclusion that all these languages are our own.

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skumarsJan 08, 2017 02:51pm

@Junaid goawala -this is a wrong perception . It is a fact that most of the countries were formed based on one language like japan , germany, france etc.. It is not that they had many languages to start with to end up with one promoted national language. For countries formed with multiple languages, promoting one language will lead to disintegration and it is unfair for the other language speakers .These are basically nation-states where one language formula will not apply. Further if the promoting language is used for eliminating competetion in government jobs this will be a disaster. At the end of the day we all will come to a conclusion that all these languages are our own.

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MKJan 08, 2017 03:34pm

Enlish and Urdu/ Hindi are good functional languages but our mother tongue gives us connection to our own roots and identity. After being educated in national/ official languages, it is enriching to stay connected with our mother tongue also. Besides that, our mother tongue is one of the easiest languages for us to excel in no matter what stage we decide to start practicing it. Not much effort required. And of course, then it's good to pass it on the next generation. I know that Urdu/ Hindi and Punjabi have a shared vocabulary, along with other regional languages also there are similarities. And if there is a common script it it even easier. And it's not necessary to learn in school. Those Indians living abroad send their children to special Saturday schools to learn their mother tongue and speak it at home. Hindi and Urdu are picked up simply by watching TV and movies.

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DibJan 08, 2017 08:15pm

The last two sentences of this report are extremely important. With disappearance of local dialects/languages, valuable information regarding ethnobotany and use of ancient medicinal plants will also be lost. This state in Pakistan is biodiversity rich, and protection of local languages and culture which is severely hit by exodus of Hindu and Sikh communities after partition and recent surge in violence must be done with war footing for benefit of people.

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DibJan 08, 2017 08:20pm

@Jithin
At least the present govt is not hell bent.

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MuhammadJan 08, 2017 08:46pm

@P. S. Natarajan I disagree with u sir. Urdu has declined in india. My family is from UP and hardly any youngster in my family residing in India can read and write Urdu. Not just that many can't even properly pronounce the sounds like KH as in Khushi and gh as in ghubbara properly . And this is just many of the instances. I know many India Muslims from Urdu speaking regions residing in Middle East and even they agree that Urdu is not getting its due share. Just by declaring a language as recognized on a piece of paper doesn't guarantee anything. India and Pakistan need to take more steps in promoting regional and minority languages

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sri1Jan 09, 2017 12:03am

@yauqut khan "bollywood is promoting urdu instead of hindi. Dialogues of bollywood movies are in urdu and pure urdu when it comes to lyrices. btw indians should be proud of sansikrit not hindi"
Indians are proud of all languages arising in India, including Hindustani or Urdu. Just because some people exported it from UP does not make it a non-Indian language - we still have many Urdu publications and a population equal to yours who pride in Urdu. One of the Indian official languages. And at the same time we maintain the relevance and cultural growth of each and every one of our languages. Besides Hindi, the languages below (descending order as per numbers of speakers) are each spoken by more than 25 million Indians - Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia and Punjabi. We have 22 official languages and "NO National" languages so that no one feels that another language is imposed artificially. No one can deride another's language as rustic or lower.

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AftabJan 09, 2017 02:37am

Urdu is our future, the most modern and new language.

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s kumars Jan 09, 2017 12:44pm

@Avik Ray - the same question was asked about tamil , malayalam , kannada and telugu films 20 years back. but Now these films are doing very strong and at par and even some tamil films make more money than hindi films. Many actors from hindi films now work in tamil/telugu films. But from late 80s and 90s , since bengalis, gujarat and maharashtra accepted hindi, their own language films then have gone down ( which were earlier at par with south , ) and they now no longer exists. I can say very often some marathi and bengali films were exceptionally good then .(you watch sairaat a recent marathi film ) and AR rehman was already a super star before bollywood chased him to get him inside. The numerous south language web sites are proof enough that these languages are thriving but i cannot hope for sure about marathi , oriya and gujarathi ..sad indeed . punjabi and bengali will however, survive somehow.